Although location has become one of the most important aspects of the Grand Theft Auto games, fans of the franchise would do better to pay attention to the setting. This is because the time the game is set will have more impact on what sorts of missions and other activities players are able to access, as well as the way they communicate with NPCs and the cars they drive. It won’t be possible to drive a up-to-date sports car if they haven’t been invented yet, after all.
Rockstar Games has already confirmed they’re remastering GTA 5 for the PlayStation 5, and it’s previously been reported the developer is also currently working on GTA 6, though nothing remains confirmed. There have been plenty of rumors and alleged leaks about Grand Theft Auto 6’s location and setting over the past few years, with many of the rumors suggesting GTA 6 will take place mainly in Vice City but will have some missions in a Rio De Janeiro-inspired fictional location as well.
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There’s also been talk about the time period GTA 6 will take place in. Some have suggested Grand Theft Auto 6 could be set in the 1970s or 1980s, which would be a big change from the modern setting GTA fans are used to. But if this ends up becoming a reality, and the franchise is indeed going back a few decades, such a change will have a major impact on what the overall game looks like.
How Grand Theft Auto Embodies Its Era
Everything players are familiar with in Grand Theft Auto 5 could change if GTA 6 is set in the past. The activities and side missions could be entirely different. Little details, like the customization options for the character’s clothes to the architecture of the buildings, would be completely changed. If the game is set anywhere before the 1980’s, players can expect there will be no more handy cell phone to pull out of the character’s pocket. Rather, the game would have to get more creative about how players get alerted to new missions or get in contact with other characters in the game, perhaps returning to the beeper from GTA 3. If the game was set even further back, then something as major as the strip club (and its missions) could be completely overhauled since such clubs have only been legally around for a few decades. However, a 1920’s speakeasy could be a cool replacement.
Perhaps even more important to GTA fans, the setting will completely change the types of cars available. The aesthetic of the vehicles will be totally different, depending on how far the game is set in the past. If GTA 6 is set in the ‘70s or ‘80s, then players shouldn’t expect modern supercars to be available for stealing. Likewise, GTA’s car customization will be completely different depending on what sort of modifications were available in the time period. In the ‘70s, Ford Mustangs, Dodge Challengers, and Cadillac Coupe Deville’s were some of the top cars, whereas, in the ‘80s, it was common to see Ford Fiestas, Ford Escorts or Vauxhall Novas on the street. But these cars all run (and look) differently than their modern counterparts, so if a new GTA game is set in the past, players can expect a different gameplay experience, especially when they get behind the wheel. This is proof that time and setting are way more important to the Grand Theft Auto franchise than location.